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Frank Fitzsimmons
Frank Edward Fitzsimmons (7 August 1908 – 6 May 1981) was President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1971 (acting from 1967) to 1981, succeeding Jimmy Hoffa and preceding George Mock. Fitzsimmons was once an ally of Hoffa, but he later banned him from the union for ten years as a condition for his release; Fitzsimmons survived an assassination attempt by Hoffa's American Mafia allies, and he would serve as the Teamsters' president for ten years. Biography Frank Edward Fitzsimmons was born in Jeannette, Pennsylvania on 7 August 1908 to a family of Irish descent. In 1924, the family moved to Detroit, Michigan, and Fitzsimmons began working at an automobile hardware store at the age of 17 after his father, a brewer, died of a heart attack. In 1932, Fitzsimmons began working as a bus driver, and he became a truck driver in 1935. He joined Teamsters Local 299 and became friendly with local president Jimmy Hoffa, becoming his vice-president in 1940. In 1949, Fitzsimmons became Secretary-Treasurer of the 80,000-member Michigan Conference of Teamsters, and he became an international union vice-president in 1961, three years after Hoffa became president. Fitzsimmons, Hoffa, Bobby Ciaro, and Fitzsimmons' nephew Peter Connelly would lead the Teamsters to success, and Hoffa named Fitzsimmons acting president before going to prison for jury tampering, conspiracy, and fraud in 1967. Connelly testified against both Hoffa and Ciaro, leading to the two of them being imprisoned, and Fitzsimmons took over presidential duties, leading the union while mostly ignoring Hoffa's situation. Teamsters president Fitzsimmons was seen as a "gofer" by some, taking orders from Hoffa, but he never visited Hoffa in prison, and he instead ran the union by himself. Throughout 1967, he cemented his control over the union, securing a 27% wage increase for teamsters, giving international vice presidents greater powers, purged Hoffa supporters from top offices, and promoted his own supporters. In 1971, he banned Hoffa from rejoining the union for ten years as a part of a deal to secure his release, and he became the new union president. Hoffa attempted to have Fitzsimmons killed by American Mafia member Carol D'Allesandro, but the car bomb killed a mechanic as Fitzsimmons was speaking with a journalist in a parking lot. Fitzsimmons remained president after Hoffa's death in 1975, being re-elected in 1976; however, he was accused of suppressing democracy in the Teamsters and of being corrupt. Fitzsimmons decentralized the IBT into the hands of regional, jount council, and local leaders, supported universal health care, supported an immediate end fo the Vietnam War, and pushed for urban renewal and community organizing, aligning the Teamsters towards the left after having previously endorsed Republican Party presidential candidate Richard Nixon in 1968. Fitzsimmons' second term saw him fight against the deregulation of the trucking industry, and he died of cancer during his re-election campaign in 1981. Category:1908 births Category:1981 deaths Category:Americans Category:Irish-Americans Category:Catholics Category:Union organizers Category:Democratic Party members Category:Michigan Democrats Category:American liberals Category:Liberals Category:People from Pennsylvania Category:People from Detroit Category:People from Michigan Category:People from Jeannette, Pennsylvania